No, not like that. “Hump day” as in Wednesday: that awkward day of the week that’s just kind of there in the middle. It’s not the beginning of the week anymore, but it’s not quite the end of it either. You don’t know whether to complain or to be relieved that the week has been going by at such-and-such pace or worry about whether you’ve gotten everything done that you needed to do for the end of the week. 

Maybe you’re forgetting something and you won’t be able to remember it until it’s too late. Maybe I’m over-thinking things, but this is how this semester has felt to me so far. Kind of like a “hump semester” instead of a “hump day” in that awkward way of just being in the middle.

I know that junior year isn’t exactly the middle of a college career, but I feel as though I’ve reached that point where I’m settled in with my routine, but there’s still so much I have to remember to do. I’ve finally found my niche, but what about  next semester?

Maybe I’m not as settled in as I think I am, because there’s really no way of knowing what the rest of the week – or, in this case, year – holds. The fact that I’m not going abroad probably contributes to this feeling. I’ve met so many people this semester that I had never anticipated connecting with and, with the vast majority going abroad, the future looks uncertain.

I guess that’s what junior year is for, though: finding your niche and readjusting when everything changes the next semester, then trying to keep all of the pieces together as you stumble into senior year and actually have to figure out life after college. With all of this to think about, it’s a little difficult to just stay put and enjoy the  present. Which is exactly how I feel about Wednesdays.

Most people seem to really like Wednesday. It usually means that there’s only one more day of each class left in the week, which in turn means less work, so everyone is that much closer to the weekend. At the same time, though, Wednesday always has this funny habit of speeding the week up.

It’s like getting to the highest peak of a roller coaster: you know the drop is just ahead and you know it’ll be over fast, but you can’t really grasp just how quickly it will end. At least I assume that’s what it’s like, as I’ve never been on a roller coaster before. This probably contributes to my ruminating over the future; I have absolutely no sense of what it will be like when I get there.

And I realize that nobody knows, but that doesn’t stop me from generating this odd sense of foreboding. With only one Wednesday left before final exams, I can’t help but feel like this last drop in the roller coaster of the semester came and went too quickly. I always try to remind myself that the school year is going to fly by quicker than I expect it to, but I feel unprepared at how suddenly this last stretch of weeks has come up. It’s as if each new semester goes by as each post-“hump day” week does – faster and faster with every year.

Contact Emily Kress at [email protected].